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Spanish police cuff web defacement crew

Five teens are net's 'most prolific hackers'

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Spanish police have arrested five hackers said to be among the most prolific on the internet.

The suspects - all under 20, with two being just 16 - allegedly took down the website of Spanish political coalition Izquierda Unida (United Left) soon after the March general election. The five, alleged members of a defacement crew called the D.O.M. Team 2008, were arrested following police raids in the provinces of Barcelona, Burgos, Malaga and Valencia over the weekend, El Mundo reports.

The DOM team group has collectively claimed responsibility for attacks on 21,000 websites over the last two years including government websites in the US, Latin America and Asia. Other alleged targets include Spanish telephone operator Jazztel, an unnamed Venezuelan carrier and NASA. Most of the members of the group hail from Latin America.

El Mundo contacted the group following the attack on Izquierda Unida (an opposition political grouping mainly consisting of Greens and former Communists) back in March, just after the Spanish general election. The defacers denied accusations they were "delinquents", and claimed their actions were designed to expose website insecurities.